The Passion (Notorious 2)

Wife. The word was strange, engendering even stranger feelings of longing and need. He wondered if he would leave an heir, if they had made a child. A son… or a daughter. The thought brought an odd ache to the vicinity of his heart.

As if she could sense his bewildered reflections, the woman in his arms stirred. She was watching him, Nick realized, her luminous blue eyes searching. Desire knifed through him again, sharp and insistent, but he clamped down on his lusts, reminding himself of her virginal state.

"Are you all right?" he murmured, pressing a kiss on her forehead.

"Yes." A sigh whispered from her. "That was… wonderful."

A smile touched his mouth as a fresh wave of tenderness flooded him. "I'm gratified you think so."

"Was that… was I… a disappointment for you?"

He lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "Quite the contrary, siren. I've never experienced lovemaking quite so delectable." At her slight frown of skepticism, he gave a soft laugh. "It's true. Perhaps you're too inexperienced to recognize the fierce control I had to exercise, but it was all I could do to keep from ravishing you." He leaned forward to brush a kiss on her nose. "I could make love to you all night long… but I suppose I must show some consideration for your innocence and let you sleep."

A look of sadness passed over her face, and she reached up to touch his mouth with her fingers. "I really don't want to sleep. If this is my only night with you, I want it to last as long as possible."

He gazed at her, wanting to chase away the shadows in her beautiful eyes. She was thinking of the morning to come, he knew.

Shifting his position, he eased over her.

"So do I, angel," he whispered huskily as his mouth lowered to find hers. "So do I."

Chapter Six

In his embrace I discovered the wonder and the anguish of desire .

Confusion was Aurora's first reaction as she slowly stirred awake. Her body felt unusually sensitive, her lips and breasts tender, while an unfamiliar discomfort throbbed between her thighs. Blinking at the sunlight filtering through the chinks in the shutters, she tried to place the strange, spartan bedchamber. More bewildering, she was pressed against a hard, warm, male body that was decidedly nude…

Memory came rushing back full force. Her marriage. Her husband. Nicholas Sabine.

For a moment she lay in his arms remembering, her cheek against his shoulder, their limbs entwined. For much of the night he had made love to her with exquisite tenderness and passion. What she had expected to be a brief, obligatory bedding had become a true wedding night. Nicholas had awakened her to desire, given her her first taste of ecstasy, leaving her trembling and shaken.

And she had surrendered to him completely, responding with an abandon verging on desperation. Despite their pact, the dire future he faced had added a primal urgency

to their lovemaking.

Aurora bit her lower lip hard. Last night he had made her forget her sadness, but the dreaded morning had come. Today he would die.

She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't allow herself to care for him. He was a condemned man…

Yet it was already too late. She had begun to feel a deep affinity for her new husband, which made it all the harder to think of him dying.

The tears she'd been fighting started slipping down her cheeks and onto his bare shoulder. When she felt him stiffen, she realized he was awake.

Determinedly, she drew a shaky breath, trying to stem the flow of tears.

"I don't want you to grieve for me, Aurora," he said in a low voice.

"I c-can't help it."

"God, please don't cry… I would rather face a brigade of charging cavalry than one weeping woman." His hand came up to caress her cheek. "Your tears are the worst possible torture for me."

"I… I'm sorry."

She closed her eyes while his thumb carefully wiped the tears away. After a while she drew another shuddering breath, determined not to weep. Yet she could no longer bear to remain idle while he went to his death.

"This cannot be allowed to happen," Aurora vowed, her own voice low and fierce, "I won't allow it. I intend to visit the governor at once and compel him to stay your sentence. Sweet heaven, how could I have been so blind not to think of it before now?"

Disentangling himself from her nude form, Nick sat up, turning his back to her. "Might I remind you of your promise to help my sister?" he said quietly. "Your cousin has arranged to escort you to Montserrat today – this afternoon."